This is a paper about the micro scale of research ethics; specifically the ethics of a multidisciplinary narrative inquiry in two Northern Finnish villages by a large group of researchers. The issues faced with in such an inquiry are approached and introduced here as a collection of individual and shared thoughts, memories, open questions, stories…

Interviewing has been a recognized mainstay of ethnographic fieldwork for more than 100 years. Coupled with participant observation, it was taken to be the complete corpus of anthropological and sociological inquiry activity. Although the repertoire of fieldwork inquirers has grown, interviewing remains a primary data collection technique,…

This paper presents some insights about the rigors of ethnographic fieldwork gained in the conduct of an ethnographic study of the Muscogee people of Oklahoma (called "Creek" by European settlers). The difficulties and issues discussed include: (1) gaining entry; (2) selection of key informants; (3) ways informants tested the investigator; (4)…

Based on personal experiences in conducting intensive ethnographic fieldwork, the social, emotional, and personal aspects of fieldwork that are often neglected in the literature are considered. The fieldwork involved observations within five diverse secondary schools during a 2-year period in conjunction with a project on microcomputer…

This paper focuses on the technique of role-switching as a workable field relationship tactic in the observer's work site. It describes the nature of subject use of the observer's dual status during the research activity, and conceptualizes the relationship between this type of researcher-role management and the premise of role reciprocity in…

The desire to abolish the gap between research theory and classroom practice has sparked an increasing interest in field-based research among science educators. Although most researchers are aware of the standard meanings of informed consent and confidentiality, and there are some codes of ethical principles published by such groups as the…

A way to assess the large volume of student data generated in an introductory graduate-level course in qualitative research in education is described. Primary attention is given to assessing the technical aspects of field data collection, and only secondary attention is given to the consideration of the substantive aspects of the field data. In…

Female researchers conducting field research in educational politics encounter special problems of access, entry, reciprocity, and ethics. Accordingly, this study focuses first on field research methods in policy settings as a general topic, then on problems specific to women in this area. A researcher must be aware of informal coalitions or…

The structure and quality of classroom interaction and the ways in which children learn how to interact appropriately was the initial focus of the research and field work described in this paper. The site was a kindergarten/first grade class in a suburban Boston Title I elementary school with many students from second and third generation…

A critical look at four conventional beliefs that guide research in higher education is presented. These beliefs concern stakeholders, aims of inquiry, paradigm and modes of inquiry, and inquiry perspectives. Higher education should be a field of study where scholars, administrators and faculty provide the lodestar for inquiry. (Author/MLW)

This paper discusses the importance of pilot studies in the development and implementation of a research project, focusing on the use of a pilot study to revise conceptual and methodological issues in dissertation research on higher education leadership. It examines the hermeneutic circle, as described by M. Heidegger, that stresses the importance…